CNN's Best Beer towns in U.S.

The list itself sounds pretty solid... stop being pansies, michiganders. Also, as someone that lives in the midwest, Chicago probably isn't on there because beers are 9 dollars a pour, and it's in the midwest. The midwest is terrible.

 

Boooo where is Rochester, NY to signify all that is good and glorious about the east coast?!?!

 

No Vermont? At least this stays in line with CNN's standards of reporting quality, or lack thereof

 

Completely agree. I've visited Bend now a couple times and it's an incredible place to be. Surrounded by mountains with the Deschutes running right through it and amazing beer to boot.

 

The top draws for Boston would be the two beers I recommend you don't try. And putting Cape Ann on a pub crawl would require an hour drive up north lol

 

Anyone who doesn't give Philadelphia a 10 for beer history shouldn't be allowed to publish articles about beer. More was done here in the late 90's and early Aughts to promote the drinking and appreciation of traditional Belgian styles than anywhere outside of Belgium itself, and possibly even moreso than was being done in Belgium at the time. Tom Peters of Monk's Cafe fame is very much responsible for reviving the almost dead art of traditional lambic brewing by selling those beers to American beer drinkers.

And bars? We not only have Michael Jackson's favorite beer bar, but many, many other great bars, several of which are dedicated almost exclusively to Belgian beer. Events? I dare anyone to try to find a city that has an annual beer week that rivals Philadelphia's in terms of amount, diversity, and quality of beer events.

One thing Philly lacks is a multitude of great breweries. Our local brewers put out some fine products, but nothing that generates wide buzz, unless you want to stretch our boundaries all the way out to Troegs in Harrisburg. Which is a fair enough reason not to put Philly at #1, but behind Boston? NFW, man.

 

Yup. Harpoon IPA isn't bad but its certainly no "top draw." It's also available in most of the country.

 

I am probably being to picky but shouldn't the article be called, "Best Beer Cities"? A town has is much smaller and a lot less population than the cities that they chose.

 

Not too many of these are surprises but I love that Asheville made the list. I have had the chance to visit there once and actually went to the Thirsty Monk that was listed in their article. Glad they got mentioned because they do have quite the selection.

 

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Another subjective opinion by a paid journalist who may or may not have a real interest in beer or may just be going on stats and other's opinions. And why 8? Why not 10 or 12 or more since there are so many "towns" out there that are deserving.

 

This article is so poorly written. There is a big difference between a town and a city. You wanna make a list and title it Best Beer Town and include Bend, Asheville and so on..fine. Best Beer City list and name SF, Philly and so on..fine. But you can't do both in the same list. Im done.

 

Clearly this person has never been to Madison WI.

 

Philadelphia Top Draws: Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale, Victory Hop Devil IPA

If anyone's looking to snag some of these Top Draws, shoot me a BMail.

 

I think the article should have been called "the 8 best beer 'areas' in the USA". Clearly using Bay Area and the towns surrounding Denver to qualify as "towns" doesn't really justify using the term "8 best beer towns in the USA"...just sayin'.

 

I just moved back to Philly from Portland and I am BLOWN AWAY by what a beer town Philly is -- and it's not even beer week. A few days ago I walked into a bar and BY ACCIDENT stumbled on a Hitachino Nest tap takeover with a talk from the owner. Tonight there's an Italian sour master talking and tapping two kegs at Alla Spina. The focus on local AND the global is what makes the beer scene here so special. I love love love Portland and dream nightly of the Hair of the Dog Tasting Room and Cascade but it felt a little provincial at times with its "NW-only" focus at so many bars.

 

Northern Vermont is small enough that it should just be listed as a city. Give me three other breweries within an hour of each other that are all as high quality as alchemist, lawsons, or Hill farmstead.

 

Those are great but it's not unheard of to see multiple great breweries that close. Take for instance Northern California; within 15 minutes of each other are Bear Republic, Lagunitas and Russian River...

 

I'm trying to imagine what the Linkery would be like if Pat were running it, but I can't do so without laughing out loud.

 

Clearly the article would have been better without the top draws - they were added as an afterthought by a writer who probably didn't have a complete handle on what really is or isn't uniquely available in those cities.

I think Philly should have been higher than 6 due to history and events, but Portland at #1 sounds right to me. I was absolutely stunned at their beer scene when I visited last month...honestly most other cities/states I've visited aren't even close.

 

Exactly, or Crooked Stave, Great Divide, Avery, Odell, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, etc. all within an hour of each other in the Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins area.